Toilet-paper fixture



(No Model.)

. J. T. 8v`W. J. DONOVAN.

' TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

No. 374,399. Patented Deo. 6, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T.` DONOVAN AND VILLIAM J. DONOVAN, OF SPRINGFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS.

TOILET-PAPER FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,392, dated December 6, 1887. Application filed Muy 18, 1887. Serial No. 238,583. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it-known that we, JOHN T. DONOVAN and W ILLIAM J. DONOVAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toilet-Paper Fixtures, f which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to toiletpaper ixtures, the object being to provide an improvedV device for holding a bundle of paper in such manner that one sheet at a time only can be separated therefrom.

In the drawingsforming part of this specilication, Figure l is a perspective view of a toilet-paper iixture constructed according to our invention, one corner of said fixture being shown broken away to show the position of the bundle of paper within it and the manner of attaching the ends of the bundle to the fixture, one end of one of the sheets composing said bundle being shown depending from the fixture. Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofa bundle of paper adapted to be used in the fixture shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View of parts hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, A is the fixture for holding a bundle of toilet-paper, B, said iixture consisting of an oblong hollow case or box divided in a line with the plane of its sides about midway between the latter, as shown, thereby forming two parts, 2 and 3,which are preferably hinged together on one edge of the.

fixture, one of the hinges, 4, being shown in Fig. l, and the opposite edge of the fixture is provided with any suitable catch to hold the parts 2 and 3 in a closed position. Said fixture A is made of wood, sheet metal, or heavy stiff card-board, as may be preferred, and the outer side of the fixture is provided with a rectangular opening, 5, of a length corresponding to the width ofthe sheets of paper which form said bundle B, and of any convenient width to permitone sheet, 6, of said bundle to be drawn through it, as shown in Fig. 1, said opening having opposite borders with which said sheets engage, and being of less width than the distance between the cement lines x m near the ends of the bundle.

The fixture A is provided with a suspendingsloop, 7, on one end, by which it is conveniently hung on a wall or other place, whereby it is sustained in such a position asis shown in the drawings, so that the sheets of paper, one after the other, may hang through said opening 5, as shown, thereby presenting one end of a sheet in position to be easily seized.

The proper functions of the fixture A are not dependent upon having its parts 2 and 3 hinged together, as above described; but said parts may, if desired, be fittedtogether like two parts of an ordinary box, 'and be so secured together as to retain their united position while one bundle of paper is being used, and so as to permit of theirbeing opened to insert another bundle.

The bundle of paper, B, is of a well-known construction, and consists of sheets, 6, of tissue or other paper, having the ends of alter ternate sheets cemented to the adjoining ones, as shown in Fig. 2, and having a line-wire loop, 8, attached to both ends ofthe bundle, as shown.

The interior of the iixture A has a hook, 9, secured in the rear side thereof at the upper and lower end, on which the paper bundle B is hung. The lower one of said hooks has its shank bent, as shown, whereby, after having been turned to bring the end of the hook upward to permit the lower loop, 8, of the bundle to be easily attached to it, the hook is caused to move eccentrically when turned downward, and draw so tightly upon the loop which is engaged with it as to serve to better keep its engagement with said loop when the latter becomes more or less slackened by the removal of sheets from the bundle.

The operation of our improvements in conjunction with said bundle of paper in removing sheets one at a time therefrom is as follows: The bundle B is hung in the xture in the position shown, and the end of the outer sheet of the bundle may hang downward from the upper end thereof or from the lower end of the bundle, and when the latter is the case the end of the said outer sheet, 6, is drawn through the opening 5 in the front side of the fixture and hangs in the position shown in Fig. 1. By seizing the outer end of said sheet 6 its down-hanging inner end and the lower end of the sheet next under it, (they being at- IOO tached to loop 8,) to which it is cemented lightly, are both drawn across the lower edge of said opening 5, and the end of said loopattached sheet is torn from the loop, and the attached ends of said two sheets are drawn through said opening, and by continuing to pull on the sheetlirst seized thesaid two sheets become torn apart or separated at their cemented point, leaving the said outer sheet in the fingers of the operator, and the lower end of the other sheet (now the outer one) hanging through the opening 5 of the fixture by reason of the cemented attachment of its upper end to the next under sheet near the end of the latter. It', now; the depending end of the downhangng sheet (represented by, Fig. 2) be pulled upon and drawn upward against the upper edge of opening 5, the end ofthe sheet next under that one becomes torn away from the upper loop7 8, and drawn through the said opening 5, and the seized sheet is torn away or separated from the latter-named one, and the free end thereofis left hanging,in the position shown in Fig. l, across the lower` edge of said opening, its inner end being connected by cement to the next under sheet near the lower end of the latter.

The within-described paper-holding iixture providesa cheap and effective device for holding packages of sheets oftoilet-paper in such a way that only one sheet is removed at atime. It is obvious that the entire front side of the tixtureAneed not necessarily be wholly closed above and below the edges of the opening 5, but simple bars iixed across the front of the fixture, leaving a space between them about equal to that between the upper and lower borders of said opening, against which the sheets may be drawn for separating the same, as they are against the borders of the opening 5,would suffice to provide an operative fixture. lVhat' we claim as our invention is- The within-described toilet-paper fixture consisting of the hollow case A, the hooks 9, secured on the inner side of said case, one at each end thereof, on which to suspend a bundle of paper consisting of detachable sheets, and an opening, 5, in one side of the case,hav ing parallel borders extending in lines trans versely ofthe sheets of paper in said bundle, with which they are engaged when separated therefrom, substantially as set forth.

JOHN T. DONOVAN. WM. J. DONOVAN.

Witnesses:

H. A'. CHAPIN, G. M. CHAMBERLAIN. 

